Frame for stretching shade cloth



Dec. 15, 1925 1,565,731

l.. B. GIRARD FRAME FOR STRETCHING SHADE CLOTH Filed April 28. 1925 ATTORNE Y.

Patented Dec. 15, 1925.

UNITED STATES i PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS B. GIRARD, 0F LOS ANGELES. CALIFOREA, ASSGNOR TO COLUMBA MILLSINCORORATED, OF'NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 0F NEW' YORK.

FRAME FOR STRETGI'ING SHADE CLOTH.

To all whom t may concern.

Be it known that I, Leurs B. Glu/mn, a citizen ot' ther United States,residing at Los Angeles, county ot Los ngeles, State oil" California,have invented a new and uselul Improvement in` Frames ttor StretchingShade Cloth, ot which the following is a specification. i

rlhis invention relates to trames for stretching shade cloth or otherfabric or for holding it in place while it is being painted, sized, ordried, and particularly to frames lor this purpose in which the upperand lower rails are wholly ot metal. The frames used tor this purposeare ordinarily made in sections and it is necessary to pivotally secureone of the rails and pre'lu'ably the lower rail of each section to thecorresponding rail of adjacent section or sections, so as to permit suchrail to be spread away trom the other rail at such points ol.2connection between adjacent sections so as to stretch the cloth. Themain `object of the present invention is to provide a novel means forsecuring or connecting adjacent rail sections together so as to permitrelative angular displacement of said sections' to stretch the cloth butto limit the amount of such angular displacement so that in the event ofaccidental release ot thevmfeans normally holding the lower rail insuspend ed position the extent to which the rail sec-y tions may `falldue to the pivotal connection between the same is limited so as toprevent tearing of the cloth or damaging of parts of the frame bystriking one another as would be apt to occur otherwise as hereinafterdescribed. lith this object in view the invention comprises inconnection with a stretching frame of the above type, a rail tormedoifsections placed end toend, and means for non-rigidly connecting saidsections together so as to permit the normal amount ot angulardisplacement between said sections as required in moving the same forstretching lthe cloth, but to limit the lnaxilnun'i angular displacementwhich may occur between the adjacent sections of the rail.

The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of my invention andreferring thereto;

Fig. 1 is a front elet/ation ot a section of c1( th stretching trainewhose lower rail Application. tiled April 2', 1925. Serial No. 26,424.

sections are provided with connecting means according to my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of the upper and lower rails otthe trame on line 2HE in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a partial rear elevation oi adjacent lower rail sections andthe connecting means therefor.

Fig. l is a sectional view of the connecting means on line 4;4 in Fig.5. l

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5 5 in Fig. 3.

Theframe shown in Fig. 1 comprises upper rails and lower rails connectedby suitable stretching bars as hereinafter described, said rails being'in general made in a series ot sections which are connected end to endso as to provide for holding and stretching a relatively long piece ofvshade cloth orl other fabric. The construction of one section ot such aframe with a portion of the adjoining section is shown in Fig. 1,withparts broken'away as indicated and it will be understood that all thesections throughout the trame are of substantially the sameconstruction. Such frame section comprises an upperrail 1 and a lowerrail 2, said rails being ofv similar construction but in relativelyinverted position as shown in Fig. 2. Each rail comprises a main railmember `formed as a flanged metal rail for example a channel iron asindicated at 3, and a fixed clamp member or'clamp plate member l 'formedfor example of a strip of sheet metal so as to give the requiredrigidity, said clamp plate being permanently and rigidly secured to therail member 3 by suitable means for example by rivets, indicated at 5,and projecting vertically from the rail member so as to provide arelatively thin member for attachment of the cloth. Each clamp plate lis provided at its outer or free edge, that is to say at the lower edgeof the upper clamp plate and the upper edge of the lower clamp plate,with a flange or turned over portion 6 forming a groove 7 cooperatingwith movable clamp means as hereinafter described to secure the shadecloth on the clamp member t. Said movable clamp means is herein shown asbeing of the same construction as that shown in patent to L. B. Girard,No. 1,371,417, issued March 15, 1921, but it may be of any othersuitable or well-known construction, the construction shown cinprsiugmovable @lamp ged connections 'for arms or straps which are pivoted orhinged 1t 11 to plates 12, secured to the rail members 3, for example byrivets or bolts 13 extending` through said members 12, 11, and 3. Theupper rails of adjacent sections may be secured together tor example bya lish plate or tic plate 19 and bolts 2 passing through said lish plateand said rail sections. The upper tixed clamp plate members it of theadjacent sections may also be secured together for example by means ofstraps and rivets. The manner ot securing the upper rail sectionstogether is relatively unimplates S having hin 4portant however, andforms no part oi this invention, as any other suitable means `torrigidly connecting the sections together may be employed.

The adjacent sections oft the lower rails, however,` are joined togetheraccording to my invention by non-rigid connecting means adapted topermit a limited amount ot angular displacement of said sectionsrelative to one another. `For this puroose pair ot ish plates or tieplates 15 may be provided, extending across the joint between thesections as at 1G, and one in :front and one behind the rail members, asshown in Figs. 2 and 5. vSaid [ish plates may be rigidly secured to oneot the rail-sections 3 for example by means of bolts 17 passing throughholcsin said ish plates and in the rail seci' tion S and the hXed clampplatea and provided with nuts 21. The lish plates are pivot ally ornon-rigidly secured to the other rail section tor example by means ol abolt 1S passingtherethrough and preferably provided with a pair oflock-nuts or jam nuts 2L). to permit tightening ot said nuts on theboltI while leaving sutlicient play between the lish plates land therail -section to permit turning or angular displacement thereo'l. Stopmeans or limit means are provided however, vfor limiting the maximumai'igular displacement which may occur, such stop or limit meanscomprisingt'or example a bolt l-tl passing through holes in both lishplates and secured thereto j n'eterably by means ot locl; nuts or jamnuts '11,lv and also passing through a recess or notch 42 in railsection 2l. Said' recess is o" somewhat greaterwidth than bolt 10, so asto permit limited angular movement of rail member 3 about pivot bolt 1S,but the edges of the recess are adapted to engage said bolt when acertain angular displacement is reachedso as to prevent V'furtherangular' displacement, as hereinafter described.

Means are provided for 'forcing or spread- .ing the upper and lowerrails; apartv at the joints of the lower rail after `the cloth is se`cured thereto soas to`stret`ch such cloth.

Such Vmeans may comprise, vfor example, spreading arms Q4, consistingfor example .ot .angle 'Jronsfmd nvotaily mounted on the "tor exampleinstead ot channel irons,

lower rails members adjacent cach joint, tor exan'iple, as shown, bymeans oil: one oit the bolts 17 aforesaid or it desired by means et oneof the pivot bolts 1S, and a lever arm pivotally mounted on the upperrail, l'or example, by means ot U-shaped straps QG and bolts 27. Inorder to permit swinging movement ot spreading` arm Q-l. about bolt 1Tand sullicient lateral movement thereoit to facilitate engagementthereolI with lever arm 25 as hereinafter described, I prefer to providea spacing' washer surrounding said bolt and extending through and o'l'somewhat greater thickness than said spreading arm, so that nuts Q1 maybe tightened up on said washer to hold the [ish plates rigidly to therail section while permitting swinging ot arm 24. Each ot said leverarms is provided with a pin or stud 28 adapt d to engage in any one ot aplurality oit recesses or notches Q9 in the corresponding spreading armQ41-, so that downward movement otlever arm 25, with said stud engagedin a suitable notch will cause spreading` arm Q-t `to Atorce the upperand lower rails apart at this point. 'The above described spreadingmeans are such as are commonly used in the art any other suitable orwell-known means may be used For this purpose.

The frame may be hung or supported in any suitable manner, for example,by means ot wire hangers ()l and 'eye-bolts ll, said hangers dependingVfor example, trom means travelling in suitable ways, to permit theassemblage ot a large number o'l the 'trames in parallel order and otseparation ol adjza'entframes 'or access thereto in inserting.ypaint-ing` or removing the cloth.

The rail members ot the upper aud lower rails may be of anysuitablcshape or crosssection, but are jn'eterably'tlanged in order toprovide inaxinmni strength and righ .aid members may comprise angleirons or T- bars to which the fixed clamp plates -t are secured in anysuitable manner, the remainder of the construction being substantiallythe'same as above described.

In the operation ot the stretching trame above described a strip orsheet et window shade cloth or othert'abric to be stretched, indicatedat 33 is inserted at its upper and lower edges between themoving andlixed members 8 and Li; ol the respective clampingmeans, the movableclamping members S being moved tothe position indicated in dotted linesat S in Fig. 2 to permit insertion of the 'edges o1 the taln'icwvithiugroove 't' a'lter which said movable clamp members are pushed or snappedinto the position indicated in full lines in said Fig. 2, so as toengage the edges et" the fabric as at 32 and hold the same tightly inplace. It will be understood ,that during the insertion ot `the clothwithin the clamping means in this manner the lower rail 2 may besupported at the proper height in any suitable manner, for example bycausing the pin 28 on lever arm to engage in a suitable notch 29 in arm24 and allowing said arms to rest in a vertical position as shown indotted lines at 34 in Fig. 1. After the Afabric is thus clampedthroughout the entire length of the stretching frame the spreading armsare released from engagement and swung to horizont-al position, suitablesupporting clips indicated at 37 being provided at the back of therespective railsV for holding such arms in this position, and the sizingmedium, 'for example'a suitable glue and water size,

is applied to one or both sides of the fabric I 'gage in a higher notch29 than that with which it originally engaged, as indicated at in Fig.1, and lever arm 25 is then moved downward so as to push the lower frame2 downward and stretch the fabric. The arms 24 and 25 are therefore,commonly known as stretcher bars. In this operation it will be seen thata certain amount of angular displacement occurs between the two adjacentlower rail sections when the same are spread away from the upper rail.this displacement being provided for by the. pivotal connections offish. plates 15 to one of the rail members as above described. Thisoperation may be repeated if necessary until [he proper amount ofstretching is obtained. 'lhe rails are then held in this position so :isto maintain the fabric in stretched condition by bringing the arms 24and 25 to vertical position with the pin 2S engaged in a suitable notch29 and the same stretching operation is then repeated at the next jointbetween the lower rail sections. The entire strip of fabric is thusstretched and kept in stretched condition by engagement of the stretcherbars until the sizing medium has dried, which may require for examplefrom 8 to 12 hours or longer.

W'hen the entire strip `of fabric has been sized, stretched, and driedin this manner, the stretcher bars may again be released and allowed torest on supports 37, as the sized cloth will then retain its stretchedcondition, assisted only by the weight of the lower rail. The paint tobe used may then be applied to both sides thereof in the usual manner,for example by means of an ordinary brush. The paint is then allowed todry upon the cloth, such drying requiring for example from 12 to 24hours, depending upon the humidity of the surrounding air, and the sizedand painted cloth is then removed from the frames. To permit suchremoval of the cloth the movable clamping members are again opened ormoved to the position indicated at 8, such opening operation beingeasily performed for example by inserting a pointed tool or rod underthe edges of the clamps 8 or the straps 19 or hinges 9 and prying thesame outward past the dead center position. Or if desired the main stripof cloth may be removed by cutting along the edges next to the clamps,and the remaining edge portions of the cloth then removed from theclamps. l

It may occasionally occur that when the 'frame is empty, or when thecloth or fabric is being clamped thereto or removed therefrom, theengagement'between a pair of stretcher bars may accidentally be brokendue to the pin 28 slipping out of the notch 29 in which it is engaged,or such engage ment may7 be intentionally broken for some purpose. Theadjacent rail sections will therefore be unsupported at this point andwill begin to :fa-ll. rlhe stop or limit means above described will thenfunction, however, to arrest the falling motion of the rail sections, byengagement of bolt 40 with the upper edge of the recess 42, thus holdingthe parts in the position indicated in dotted lines at 48 in Fig.'4. Itwill be observed that when the parts are in this position the uppercorners 44 of the two adjacent fixed clamp plates 4 have not yet biteach other, and an important advantage of the stop means is that theyprevent such hitting of these corners, which would occur if the railsections were allowed to fall freely, and which has been found inpractice, without the use of stop means, to badly damage these 'cornersand bend the relatively thin sheet metal of which the fixed clamps areformed. se that they must be straightened or repaired before using againin order to permit engagement of the hinged clamp means there with or toavoid tearing the cloth at this point. Furthermore` if the cloth isbeing inserted or removed from the frame, and the accidental orintentional release of the stretcher bars occurs at a joint betweensections which is say, less than one section away from the nearest pointat which the cloth is clamped to the frame, the dropping of the lowerframe member for a great distance may cause tearing of the clothadjacent the nearest point of attachment to the frame, and this is alsoprevent-ed by the above-described stop or limit means.

That I claim is:

1. In a cloth stretching frame a rail comprising a plurality of sectionsplaced end to end, connecting means rigidly Secured to one of saidsections adjacent the end thereof, means non-rigidly securing saidconnecting means to the adjacent section so as to permit rela-tiveangular displacement between saidA sections and stop means on saidconnecting means and on the section to which it is nonrigidly connectedadapted to cooperate to limit such relative angular' displacement. j

2. In a cloth stretching frame, a connecting means for adjacent railsections, comprising means extending` across the joint between such railsections and adapted to be secured thereto, means for rigidly securingsaid connecting means to one of said sections, means Jror nonrigidlysecuring` said connecting means to the adjacent section, and stop mea-nssecured to said connecting means and adapted to cooperate with means onthe rail section to which it is non-rigidly secured to limit therelative angular displacement between such sections.

3. A cloth stretching iframe comprising an upper iframe and a lowerframe, said lower frame comprising a plurality of sections, connectingmeans lor said sections of the lower rail. said connecting means beingrigidly secured to one of said rail sections and being non-rigidlysecured to an adjacent rail section so asto permit relative angulardisplacement between said sections, spreading means comprising a memberhingedly secured to one of said sections adjacent said connecting meansand a member hingedly secured to the upper rail and adapted to engagewith said lirst-nan'ied spreading member to spread the rails at thispoint and thus cause relative angular displacement between said sectionsot the lower rail, and stop means on said connecting means and on therail section to which said connecting means are non-rigidly securedadaptedto cooperate to limit the relative angular displacement betweensuch rail sections.

LI. In a cloth stretching frame a rail comprising a plurality ofsections placed end to end, connecting means extending across V a jeintbetween adjacent 'sections7 means rigidly securing said connecting meansto one of said sections,`n'1eans non-rigidly securing said connectingmeans to the adjacent section and a transverse member connected to saidconnecting means and passing through said recess, said recess beinglarger than said transverse member so as to permit relativ angulardisplacement between said rail sections but adapted to engage such LOUISB. GIRARD.

